That Fateful Night
by His Lil' Half-Blood Princess
Summary: Severus Snape was very busy the night of the battle in the Department of Mysteries. From alerting the Order to comforting a friend, Severus's role behind the scenes was more important than most would ever know. NO ROMANCE. One-shot.


**That Fateful Night**

_I've always wondered how Severus felt during the Umbridge Era at Hogwarts and what he was doing that night when the Golden Trio and the Order go the Ministry..._

_Utter rubbish, in my opinion._

**XxXxX**

He had remember there being a time, when he was probably 26 or 27, when he had complained about things being boring. It had been about five years out of an action packed, heart racing war and when it had all calmed down, people were extremely relieved. However, life at Hogwarts had gotten just too boring and repetitive and monotonous that the young Potions Master often found himself quietly wishing that something exciting would happen besides a student blowing up another cauldron.

Now nearly ten years later, he wished with all of his heart that things were dull and boring and quiet again. For it seemed that each morning when he woke up, something had happened during the night. It was mind-boggling and gruesome and he wished that maybe one day he could wake up to find no new additions to school policy and the corridors not looking like a bit of the Forbidden Forest.

For Dolores Umbridge had brought a piece of hell with her to Hogwarts. Death Eater meetings and paper work and frequent staff meetings and more observed classes and new rules to follow and more Order meetings and someone else getting sacked or put on probation and another student nearly expelled and Umbridge gaining more power all bottled up into one caused frequent headaches and much confusion and stress for him. But he refused to believe that he would need any help. So he kept it all inside and spent night after night locked up in his dungeons grading papers and making Umbridge potions, if not at a meeting or very rarely, sleeping.

And through the horrors of Umbridge, it seemed that after a particularly tiresome day, he could drag himself up to the Headmaster's office and just collapse on the couch. Sometimes, he would just sit there for fifteen minutes and not say a thing except a greeting and a refusal for a lemon drop. Other days he would start venting- angrily- about the "fake, pink bitch sent straight from hell" and the Headmaster would just listen. Then when he was done yelling, Dumbledore would speak softly and try to reason with him.

It was a nice feeling- knowing that through all the stress, Severus still had someone to go to when he was feeling too overwhelmed.

But then, of course, Umbridge had kicked Dumbledore out and made herself Headmistress. The school was her empire, the teachers were her servants, the students her people, and she was the empress herself. And Severus's emotions of anger towards her could not be contained much longer. However, there was someone else who was going through nearly the same situation and who missed Dumbledore as much, perhaps even more, as he did. That was Minerva. And suddenly, for the first time in quite a while, he was leaning on someone else besides Albus Dumbledore. They leaned on each other, knowing that there were only three Order members left, and Hagrid would soon be sacked, and that they were the only hopes for their school.

**XxXxX**

He stumbled into the staffroom that morning at seven, needing a strong cup of coffee. The halls had been buzzing with students- obviously something had happened, but Severus could care less. There had been a Death Eater meeting last night and he had returned exhausted, but he couldn't sleep because he stayed up the rest of the night grading papers that Umbridge was demanding be graded by the following morning. So now, here was, barely awake with a throbbing headache.

He poured himself a mug of coffee- no milk, no sugar- and sat down in his chair in the staffroom, taking sips of the hot drink. As he slowly became more aware of his surroundings, he wondered what new decree Umbridge had thought up this time. Honestly, some were so ridiculous, he wouldn't be surprised to hear of a decree stating the dress code was strictly pink attire. But so far, as Dumbledore had constantly reminded him before he had been sacked, he was one of the only staff members and the only Order member who was in Umbridge's favor, so he was careful of what he said and who he said it to.

The door slammed open and Fillius Flitwick came rushing in. "Severus! Oh God, Severus, can you believe her?"

"What did she do this time?" Severus asked lazily, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. Flitwick's jaw seemed to drop five feet.

"You mean...you haven't heard?"

"I had...things to do last night and I only just came upstairs. What new decree has our lovely Headmistress drawn up for us now?"

Flitwick's eyes were still wide in shock and he slowly starting shaking hisr head. "There's no new decree, Severus."

Severus rolled his eyes. This had to be something petty then. He drank the rest of his coffee and stood. "Get on with it already." He started walking to the sink.

Flitwick inhaled deeply, then said, "Umbridge went to go attack Hagrid last night around midnight to kick him out. Minerva came and stood up for him. Not only is Hagrid gone, but Umbridge sent four stunners at Minerva- straight to her chest."

There was a smash of glass and his mug was on the floor, his fingers hanging limply. He stared at him, wide awake now, purely in shock. First Albus, now Minerva? What was Umbridge doing? She was insane! Absolutely insane! Why couldn't she just _tell _Hagrid privately that he was leaving, first of all, instead of going to attack him in the dead of night? And was she insane enough to send four stunners to a woman in her seventies? "What the bloody hell is _wrong _with that woman?" Severus said loudly, hoping Umbridge would hear. He was furious. He kicked the broken pieces on the floor in anger and then threw himself back in his chair and put his head in his hands, feeling another headache coming on.

"Severus!" Flitwick squeaked. "Lower your voice! Do you want her to hear you and have you sacked as well?"

"I don't give a damn, Flitwick!" he snapped. Flitwick took a few steps back. Snape sighed and looked up. "She's obviously in the Hospital Wing. I'm going to go see her before my first class." He stood up and made his way to the door.

"You can't, Severus. They're moving her to St. Mungo's in a few minutes."

"St. Mungo's? It's that bad?"

"You're not stupid. You expect her to be perfectly fine after that?"

"No, but I-" He stopped. He knew that it was serious and that Minerva could've been killed. He had just hoped...maybe she...

"It should've been worse. But she's tough, Minerva is. Thank God she isn't dead." Fillius sighed and patted Severus's arm. Severus flinched, but Flitwick didn't seem to notice. "Very well, Severus, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off. Must be giving my third years their exams." And with that, he hobbled out, leaving Severus alone. He felt the fury building up inside of his chest, anger boiling to the top. Umbridge could have killed Minerva and she wouldn't have been arrested. That was how corrupt the world had become. _So corrupt they let a Death Eater teach at Hogwarts, as well, _a voice inside of him said. He shook it off, not wanting to mull over that now. He had theory exams to give to his fourth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and had no time to be pondering over such things.

As he paced through his classroom, observing all of the students scribbling answers on their parchments, his thoughts wondered to Minerva. He longed to visit her, but Umbridge had banned teachers leaving the castle between the hours of five in the afternoon and eight in the morning. It was funny, because classes started at eight and ended at five- but that was Umbridge's point. Besides, he doubted she'd be able to speak to him. Because of her age and the amount of stunners shot at her, she was most likely unconscious. Then again, Minerva was, as Flitwick said earlier, tough. But what did it matter? He wouldn't be able to see her, anyways.

**XxXxX**

"Enter," Snape said as he heard the soft knock on his office door. He continued to look over exams, not bothering to look up at who it was. He didn't care.

"Professor Snape?" came Draco Malfoy's voice. Severus looked up at his godson and sighed.

"What is it, Draco?" he said, keeping his calm. He didn't like snapping at Draco, not just because he was Lucius Malfoy's son and he had to stay in that man's good books (and, er, they were friends, after all), but because he did care for Draco and was one of his role models.

"I'm sorry, if I bothered you, sir," Draco said, quickly.

"No, no, no, it's fine. What do you need, Draco?"

"Professor Umbridge would like to see you, sir. She needs you."

Severus sighed and stood. "Very well." He followed Draco out of his office and they made their way up the stairs.

"You won't believe who she's got in her office, sir. We hit the jackpot- we've got so many of them- right in the act! She's lucky she has a very good Inquisitorial Squad." Severus nodded and said nothing. He didn't know who Umbridge had up there exactly. But he was fairly sure that one of their names included the words "Harry" and "Potter".

They reached Umbridge's office, now with a golden plaque that said HEADMISTRESS on it. Draco opened the door for him and Snape stepped in. "You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" he said respectfully, keeping his voice soft. He scanned the room. Potter, Weasley, Granger, Weasley, Longbottom, _and _Lovegood- all being held by members of Umbridge's Army. His mind was swirling. What had they been stupid enough to get caught doing? Why did Umbridge need him? But he pretended as though he didn't even notice they were there.

"Ah, Professor Snape," said Umbridge, smiling widely and standing up. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."

_Another bottle of Veritaserum, Headmistress? I never gave you one. Oh, that thing? Yes, that was just some hot water. We wouldn't want Potter telling you where Sirius Black is, now would we? _"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter. Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient."

A pink bush spread on her toadish face, "You can make me some more, can't you?" she said, her voice sounding that of a silly teenage girl's.

"Certainly," he said, feeling like aggravating her some more. "It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month." It was true and he would have told her that anyways, but his wording and sarcasm made her much, much more annoyed. And he was thoroughly enjoying it.

"A month?" Umbridge barked. "A _month? _But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"

_Probably Sirius Black, _he thought to himself. He glanced at Harry who was looking very worried and who seemed to want to say something. But what? "Really? Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules." He looked at Harry again, who was staring into his eyes.

"I wish to interrogate him!" Snape looked back at Umbridge. "I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"

Did the woman not hear him the first time? "I have already told you that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to posion Potter- and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did- I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling..." He looked at Harry again.

"You are on probation!" the woman in pink shrieked and Severus looked at her, eyebrows slightly raised. He didn't see that coming. She was one of his, ahem, _favorites. _"You are being deliberately unhelpful~ I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!" Snape wanted to explain that he would help if he could, but decided against it. It didn't matter to him that he was on probation. She was just a bitch. So he bowed and turned to leave, hand on the doorknob when-

"He's got Padfoot! He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

Padfoot? What the hell? What was Padfoot? It sounded familiar...the Mauraders! But which one was Padfoot? It couldn't be Potter and Pettigrew was Wormtail...which was it? Black or Lupin? Wasn't Lupin called Moony or something equally ridiculous? It had to be Black! Harry had seen a vision of Black. And 'he' must be referring to the Dark Lord! But where what was hidden? He must be thinking of the weapon! The Department of Mysteries! The Dark Lord had Black at the Department of Mysteries!

He had to hand it to himself, he was brilliant.

"Padfoot? What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean Snape?" She looked at Harry, then at Snape.

He looked at Harry. "I have no idea. Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if you ever apply for a job." And with that, he left the room.

He made a beeline for his office and searched franticly for the coin. Dumbledore told him always to have in it in his robes, but he always forgot it. Besides, no Order members wanted to summon him and if they needed to contact the school, they would contact Albus, Minerva, or even Hagrid. But now, they were gone, so it was important to have the coin. He searched through his junk drawer- and yes, even he, the ever-so organized Severus Snape had a junk drawer- and found it. He pressed his thumb to the symbol and felt the coin glow warmly. "Sirius Black!" he shouted at it and the warmth disappeared. He put the coin on the table and waited. About half a minute passed and a beam of light came out. "What is it, Snape?" came Sirius's voice.

"Where are you?" he asked, frantically.

"Headquarters, Snivellus. I'm too much of a coward to go anywhere else, apparently."

"Oh shit..." Snape muttered. The Dark Lord had sent Potter a vision!

"What is it?"

"Potter saw a vision of the Dark Lord holding you captive in the Department of Mysteries." Snape said.

There was a pause, before Sirius said, "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"He tried contacting you through Umbridge's fire, but was caught. Umbridge sent for me to get Veritaserum and I told her I had no more. As I was leaving, Potter told me, and I quote, "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!" Unless you can decode that differently, I believe that means the Dark Lord sent him a vision of you and the Dark Lord in the Department of Mysteries."

"How come Harry wasn't able to block this out, huh? BECAUSE YOU STOPPED GIVING HIM LESSONS!"

"He wasn't practicing anyway!" Snape yelled. "We can't start fighting over this now! Who else is there?"

Sirius was breathing heavily, but then said, "No one. Remus is coming over soon."

"I'll contact you again if I hear or see Potter leaving for the Ministry," Snape said. Before Sirius could yell at him again, Severus pressed his thumb to the coin, breaking the connection. He tossed the coin back in his drawer, and went up to the Astronomy tower.

He looked over the school grounds, panic racing through his body. He looked over at the clock. It was nearly 6:30. He wished he could go back to Umbridge's office and tell Potter that it was just a vision. But he couldn't.

He suddenly saw three figures walking across the grounds. A curly haired girl, a skinny boy, and a pink, chubby toad. Granger, Potter...or was that Longbottom? No, it was Potter...and Umbridge. It seemed very easy for him to tell that Miss Granger was setting up a trap for Umbridge. He decided that if they didn't return to the castle in an hour, that meant they had ditched Umbridge and went to the Ministry. So he conjured up a chair and sat and waited.

He wondered what he would do if they didn't return. He hoped desperately that they did. Half an hour passed and soon he saw four more figures making their way across the lawn. A red head boy and girl, another skinny boy, and a blonde girl. The two Weasleys, Longbottom, and Lovegood. They had overtaken the squad and were making their way towards the forest. This wasn't good.

Another half an hour passed and the sky was getting dark. They weren't coming back. They were going to the Ministry.

His heart was racing with panic. There wasn't enough time to go get the coin and summon Sirius again- this was a trap! Potter could be dead! He had to contact them, quickly! There was only one option- an option he didn't like very much- but he had to do it.

_"Expecto Patronum!" _he shouted and a beautiful, silver doe flew out of his wand, glowing. It stared at him curiously and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "_Maratho," _he whispered and the doe nodded at him. "Potter and his friends went to the Ministry. The Dark Lord has set up a trap. They are in the Department of Mysteries. Hurry." He paused, then said "_Finite,_" The doe nodded, as though it had recorded the message. "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," he told the doe. It nodded again and then swirled into a ball of light and disappeared.

Snape then headed off into the forest to go search for five Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw.

**XxXxX**

It was about 9 o'clock when Severus returned to the school, fruitless in his search. He had decided something.

He knew he was not allowed to go to the battle- he never was. Both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore had forbidden it. He was a spy and he had to keep his cover. But the tension was too great. He would be spending the rest of the night worriedly pacing the school. He had a hunch that Dumbledore would be joining the battle at the Ministry and he had another hunch that he would be returning to the school. So he had decided to go somewhere while he waited out the battle. He made his way first to Dumbledore's office.

The gargoyle smirked. "I can't let you in. No one's up there."

"I know," Snape said. "If Dumbledore returns, tell him that I have gone to St. Mungo's."

**XxXxX**

"Welcome to St. Mungo's. How may I help you?" asked the dirty-blonde receptionist at the front desk of the hospital. She sounded very bored.

"I'm here to see Minerva McGonagall," Snape said. The receptionist didn't look up from her copy of _Witch Weekly. _

"What room?"

"I don't know," he said. She sighed loudly, but didn't at him, obviously annoyed.

"What floor?"

He looked over at the map of St. Mungo's. "I suppose the fourth."

"Spell Damage," she stated clearly, then looked over at a spiral booklet. She flipped a few pages, then nodded. "Room 4G. State your name."

"Severus Snape."

She looked up at him and gasped. "You _are _Severus Snape!"

"I just said that," he said briskly. She suddenly grinned.

"They were right- you do have an attitude."

"Who's 'they'?"

She lifted up her magazine. "Rita Skeeter wrote an article about you a few weeks ago. _'Severus Snape: The Heartthrob of Hogwarts'." _

"What the fu-"

"I thought you _never _left the school." He stared at her, a bit scared, but walked away. How come he didn't know about that? Damn Rita Skeeter. Ugh. The receptionist was probably lying. After all, he was no heartthrob. He would ask Minerva- she was a woman, after all. Maybe she read _Witch Weekly._

He reached the fourth floor and made his way to room 4G. The door was open, so he knocked gently on the wooden door frame. He was glad that St. Mungo's didn't have visiting hours and he could come whenever he pleased. "Come in," said a voice. Severus slowly walked into the room and Minerva's eyes met his.

"Hello," he said, trying to come up with something sarcastic to say. But he couldn't. he looked at her. She was extremely pale and she looked very weak.

"Severus," she said with a smile. "What are you doing here? Hasn't our lovely Headmistress banned going out this late?"

"Our lovely Headmistress is lying unconscious somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. You have some very clever Gryffindors, Minerva." Not understanding, Severus explained the events of the past hours and she gaped at him.

"You mean...there's a battle going on?"

"At the Ministry. And I doubt it is far from over."

"Oh, damn Umbridge!" Minerva snapped. "I would be over there fighting now!"

"I doubt there would even be a battle," Severus said. "I suppose Potter would have gone to you if you were still there."

"Why didn't he go to you first if he wanted to tell you anyways?" Minerva asked.

"I suppose through his hatred for me, he forgot I am an Order member." Minerva nodded slowly, then sighed.

"I'm worried. I hope no one gets killed from our side. Especially any of the children."

Snape nodded. There was a deep silence for a while, then he said, "How are you feeling? Four stunners to the chest? I can't believe that stupid arse didn't get arrested..."

"Severus! Don't call her an arse! At least call her a bitch, if you're going to swear." Snape smiled.

"Minerva, you're awful."

"Not as awful as you."

"I'm so awful that I came to visit you at nearly ten at night?"

She rolled her eyes. "Point made. So I suppose Hagrid made a run for it?"

He nodded. "That's not all- I'm on probation."

She looked surprised. "You're on probation? That's odd...I always thought you were a favorite of hers."

"As did I. But when I didn't give her the Veritaserum, she threw a fit and put me on probation."

"Oh, lovely. But I thought you hadn't been giving her real Veritaserum anyway."

"I wasn't. But it was lovely to aggravate her, even if I might get sacked."

"Hopefully Dumbledore will be back before she gets a chance. Or maybe she'll die in the forest, if we're lucky."

He nodded and pulled the coin out of his pocket. He had gone to retrieve it before he went into the forest. He kept it in his palm, hoping he would get word of what was going on soon. "When are you getting released?" he asked her.

"Most probably by Sunday. Thank God the students leave Monday."

"Sunday?" he asked with a tone of surprise. "That's rather early. Can you walk?"

"I haven't really gotten the chance to try yet."

"You'll probably need a wheelchair," he said. She raised an eyebrow.

"You have no faith in my walking abilities, Severus?"

"You were hit by four stunners."

"I'm not dead."

"I know, but-"

"And if I am confined to a wheelchair, whether temporarily or permanently, I'm going to need a nice, strong, young man to be pushing me around the school. I expect to continue teaching until I'm sacked or I go blind."

"I refuse to push you around. Have Sinistra or Burbage do it."

"You would push off your duty on a young lady, Severus? I'm surprised. You're the Heartthrob of Hogwarts, after all!"

"You read that too?" Severus gaped. "Am I the only one who didn't know this article even existed!"

Minerva started laughing. "Rita Skeeter never tells her, ahem 'subjects' when she writes about them. I didn't think you'd ever find out about it."

"The stupid receptionist told me about it when I told her my name. What the hell...I'm not a heartthrob!"

"Apparently you are or that issue of _Witch Weekly _wouldn't have gotten such high ratings."

He crossed his arms and slouched. "I'm not a heartthrob. That is utterly disgusting."

She laughed. "Well, it was a rather flattering article, Severus. If Lockhart was sane, he would have been extremely envious."

"If Lockhart was sane, they would have written it about him," he said, smirking. "What was it about?"

"Oh, she was rambling on about the tall, dark, mysterious Potions Master and how all of the sixth and seventh year girls are secretly crushing on him and on how the greatest mystery about you is why you're not sleeping with every girl in Hogsmeade and-"

"I really don't want to hear anymore of this rubbish," he said, rubbing his temples while Minerva laughed. "I can't believe you even read that sick gossip magazine."

"I don't. But Charity and Aurora do and they were the ones who told me about it. I just had to read it!"

"Is that why...oh...I understand now."

"What?"

"They kept whispering when they were around me..."

Minerva started to laugh so hard, he was afraid she was going to die right there.

They sat there and talked about various things for the next few hours. Occasionally, Severus would look anxiously at the coin or the clock and they would sit in silence or wonder aloud about how the battle was coming along. They did eventually start getting tired, but Minerva insisted they stay awake and await news.

Around 5:30, Severus felt the coin glow warmly in his hand. Relieved, he looked at it. It was purple. Dumbledore's color. He pressed his thumb to the symbol. "What happened?"

"The Ministry knows that Voldemort has returned. We have basically destroyed the entire Department of Mysteries battling. It's only just finished."

"Why did he lure Potter there?"

"To get the prophecy, of course," Dumbledore said, wearily. "He didn't though. It's destroyed. The Dark Lord only knows as much as you told him nearly sixteen years ago, Severus."

"Are the children all right?" Minerva piped up.

"Is that Minerva I hear?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm at St. Mungo's with her. I told your gargoyle to tell you if you returned."

"I haven't returned. Yet. But I am, once again, Headmaster. Things will be back to normal."

"But is everyone all right?" Minerva asked again, sounded worried. The Headmaster sighed.

"No. Everyone has suffered minor injuries, nothing serious. Nymphadora will be sent to St. Mungo's for a while, but it's nothing permanent. However, we did have a death."

Severus drew a sharp breath, his heart pounding. Not that he cared for any of the Order members or the children, but he didn't want any of them dead. "Who?" he asked.

"Sirius Black. Bellatrix Lestrange murdered him." They fell into a silence. Black was dead. Snape couldn't help not feeling much remorse. But he didn't wish death on him. It was unfortunate that he had been murdered. He also had a feeling that he would be blamed for it in someway. "I must be off. I have some explaining to do to Harry. Also, there's a certain Defense teacher who needs my rescuing in the Forbidden Forest, I believe?"

"Yes," Severus said.

"Very well. Severus, be back to the school soon. We need to have a meeting."

"All right," he said, pressing his thumb to the symbol again. He slipped his coin in his pocket and looked at Minerva, who was staring into space. "Minerva?"

She looked up, a bit teary eyed. "He was so young..."

Severus said nothing.

"It's sad to hear of another one of my students dying. Especially one I was close to. You know how that emptiness feels. You remember how we all felt when Cedric Diggory died." He nodded. Even though he never really cared for the boy much, he had felt a bit of an emptiness. It was how all the teachers had felt.

He stood up. "I enjoyed talking to you for the past seven hours, but I must be going. Besides, I believe I've had enough Minerva McGonagall to last a while." She rolled her eyes.

"Get out, Severus," she said with a sad smile. He gave a tiny smile back, then left for the school.

**XxXxX**

_I think this is awful, but whatever. Had to post something_


End file.
